STRATFORD District Council is set to raise its share of the council tax by an average of 42p per month.
SDC’s Cabinet will agree the draft revenue and capital budgets for the next five years when they meet on Monday (January 15).
The budget proposals include continued support for the cost-of-living crisis, help for the rural communities and vulnerable residents, support to address the climate emergency and resources to implement the new Council Plan agreed in December 2023.
The draft budget also proposes an increase to council tax of 2.99 per cent, which for an average home represents an additional 42p per month to the district council.
SDC spokesperson Coun David Curtis said: “We have undertaken a comprehensive review of the council’s finances to arrive at a draft five-year budget plan that delivers on the priorities we set when we were elected in May. This will be this administration’s first budget and will enable us to start making the changes in our community that will improve residents’ lives.
“The public sector finances continue to be very challenging, and the external environment is volatile, which could affect both our income and our costs, so we need to be prudent and ensure we have adequate contingency in our reserves. The proposed budget balances the desire for action now, with the acknowledgement that change is needed to create a more cost-effective council for the long-term and includes resources to enable us to modernise ways of working and become more resilient in the future.”
Coun Curtis continued: “We also need to safeguard services for the future and invest in new ways of working, adopt the latest technology, build partnerships, make sure that our actions deliver as many of our ambitions as possible, and streamline existing council processes.
“We simply must work in the most cost-effective way, ensuring council taxpayers’ hard-earned money is well spent. A council-wide programme is proposed which will enable services to innovate and work more collaboratively, to save costs and ultimately have greater bang for our buck.”
Following the Cabinet meeting, views will be sought on the draft budget from the public, local businesses and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee before final recommendations to be made to council are considered at the meeting of the Cabinet on Monday February 12.
Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Police are yet to set their shares of the council tax for the coming year.
